Mobile apps transform business and industries

MANILA, Philippines - Mobile applications depend on networks that are smart, scaleable and of superior performance, and networks need the innovation coming from the apps culture, said Hans Vestberg, president and CEO of Ericsson, in his keynote address to the GSM Association at the Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona.

“Apps are transformative – not only for consumers but also for enterprises,” says Vestberg, and cited smart grids as one example of how applications can change business models. He said: “Take the power sector, which in its process of making power, stands for a fair share of global CO2 emissions. But with mobile apps on top of the smart grids, CO2 savings can be achieved.

“The app is just one part of the whole chain, built on top of mobility and broadband leading us into the networked society,” said Vestberg.

The CEO said Ericsson is prepared to assist operators and businesses in four ways: process efficiency and automation; to increase efficiency for mobile workforces; enable companies to provide new value propositions, and to enable services to help people reach each other better in everyday situations.

“The combination of mobility, broadband and cloud, with applications added on top, means major business opportunities for the consumer market – and maybe more importantly, for the enterprise market. We as an industry can tap into new revenue streams and drive transformation in other industries. We can be the industry of industries,” said Vestberg.

Ericsson’s ConsumerLab found in a study that the habit of downloading applications was adopted more quickly into people’s daily lives than anyone imagined. “Twenty percent of app phone users answered that they downloaded apps daily, and they keep doing so,” he said. Last year, people downloaded nearly 11 billion mobile apps to smartphones.

Making money in the world of applications is possible, for entrepreneurs and mobile operators, Vestberg emphasized.

“The leisure apps, games and things, will always be there and people are sometimes willing to pay for them.

But I think the real potential lies in apps for enterprises and in industries like health, power and logistics,” he concluded.